1. Any subject may, by a vote of two-thirds of the Sena- 10.1 tors present, be made a special order of business for consideration and when the time so fixed for its consideration arrives the Presiding Officer shall lay it before the Senate, unless there be unfinished business in which case it takes its place on the Calendar of Special Orders in the order of time at which it was made special, to be considered in that order when there is no unfinished business.

2. All motions to change such order, or to proceed to the 10.2 consideration of other business, shall be decided without debate.

RULE XI

11

PAPERS WITHDRAWAL, PRINTING, READING OF, AND

REFERENCE

1. No memorial or other paper presented to the Senate, 11.1 except original treaties finally acted upon, shall be withdrawn from its files except by order of the Senate.

2. The Secretary of the Senate shall obtain at the close 11.2 of each Congress all the noncurrent records of the Senate and of each Senate committee and transfer them to the General Services Administration for preservation, subject to the orders of the Senate.

3. When the reading of a paper is called for, and object- 11.3 ed to, it shall be determined by a vote of the Senate, without debate.

4. Every motion or resolution to print documents, re- 11.4 ports, and other matter transmitted by the executive departments, or to print memorials, petitions, accompanying documents, or any other paper, except bills of the Senate or House of Representatives, resolutions submitted by a Senator, communications from the legislatures or conventions, lawfully called, of the respective States, shall, unless the Senate otherwise order, be referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. When a motion is made to commit with instructions, it shall be in order to add thereto a motion to print.

5. Motions or resolutions to print additional numbers 11.5 shall also be referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration; and when the committee shall report fa

68-880 0 - 82 - 2

11.6

12

vorably, the report shall be accompanied by an estimate of the probable cost thereof; and when the cost of printing such additional numbers shall exceed the sum established by law, the concurrence of the House of Representatives shall be necessary for an order to print the same.

6. Every bill and joint resolution introduced or reported from a committee, and all bills and joint resolutions received from the House of Representatives, and all reports of committees, shall be printed, unless, for the dispatch of the business of the Senate, such printing may be dispensed with.

12.1

12.2

12.3

12.4

RULE XII

VOTING PROCEDURE

1. When the yeas and nays are ordered, the names of Senators shall be called alphabetically; and each Senator shall, without debate, declare his assent or dissent to the question, unless excused by the Senate; and no Senator shall be permitted to vote after the decision shall have been announced by the Presiding Officer, but may for sufficient reasons, with unanimous consent, change or withdraw his vote. No motion to suspend this rule shall be in order, nor shall the Presiding Officer entertain any request to suspend it by unanimous consent.

2. When a Senator declines to vote on call of his name, he shall be required to assign his reasons therefor, and having assigned them, the Presiding Officer shall submit the question to the Senate: "Shall the Senator for the reasons assigned by him, be excused from voting?" which shall be decided without debate; and these proceedings shall be had after the rollcall and before the result is announced; and any further proceedings in reference thereto shall be after such announcement.

3. A Member, notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, may decline to vote, in committee or on the floor, on any matter when he believes that his voting on such a matter would be a conflict of interest.

4. No request by a Senator for unanimous consent for the taking of a final vote on a specified date upon the passage of a bill or joint resolution shall be submitted to the Senate for agreement thereto until after a quorum call ordered for the purpose by the Presiding Officer, it shall be disclosed that a quorum of the Senate is present;

and when a unanimous consent is thus given the same shall operate as the order of the Senate, but any unanimous consent may be revoked by another unanimous consent granted in the manner prescribed above upon one day's notice.

1. When a question has been decided by the Senate, any 13.1 Senator voting with the prevailing side or who has not voted may, on the same day or on either of the next two days of actual session thereafter, move a reconsideration; and if the Senate shall refuse to reconsider such a motion. entered, or if such a motion is withdrawn by leave of the Senate, or if upon reconsideration the Senate shall affirm its first decision, no further motion to reconsider shall be in order unless by unanimous consent. Every motion to reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote, and may be laid on the table without affecting the question in reference to which the same is made, which shall be a final disposition of the motion.

2. When a bill, resolution, report, amendment, order, or 13.2 message, upon which a vote has been taken, shall have gone out of the possession of the Senate and been communicated to the House of Representatives, the motion to reconsider shall be accompanied by a motion to request the House to return the same; which last motion shall be acted upon immediately, and without debate, and if determined in the negative shall be a final disposition of the motion to reconsider.

RULE XIV

BILLS, JOINT RESOLUTIONS, RESOLUTIONS, AND PREAMBLES

14

THERETO

1. Whenever a bill or joint resolution shall be offered, 14.1 its introduction shall, if objected to, be postponed for one day.

2. Every bill and joint resolution shall receive three 14.2 readings previous to its passage which readings on demand of any Senator shall be on three different legislative days, and the Presiding Officer shall give notice at each reading whether it be the first, second, or third:

14.3

14.4

14.5

14.6

Provided, That each reading may be by title only, unless the Senate in any case shall otherwise order.

3. No bill or joint resolution shall be committed or amended until it shall have been twice read, after which it may be referred to a committee; bills and joint resolutions introduced on leave, and bills and joint resolutions from the House of Representatives, shall be read once, and may be read twice, if not objected to, on the same day for reference, but shall not be considered on that day nor debated, except for reference, unless by unanimous consent.

4. Every bill and joint resolution reported from a committee, not having previously been read, shall be read once, and twice, if not objected to, on the same day, and placed on the Calendar in the order in which the same may be reported; and every bill and joint resolution introduced on leave, and every bill and joint resolution of the House of Representatives which shall have received a first and second reading without being referred to a committee, shall, if objection be made to further proceeding thereon, be placed on the Calendar.

5. All bills, amendments, and joint resolutions shall be examined under the supervision of the Secretary of the Senate before they go out of the possession of the Senate, and all bills and joint resolutions which shall have passed both Houses shall be examined under the supervision of the Secretary of the Senate, to see that the same are correctly enrolled, and, when signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall forthwith present the same, when they shall have originated in the Senate, to the President of the United States and report the fact and date of such presentation to the Senate.

6. All other resolutions shall lie over one day for consideration, if not referred, unless by unanimous consent the Senate shall otherwise direct. When objection is heard to the immediate consideration of a resolution or motion when it is submitted, it shall be placed on the Calendar under the heading of "Resolutions and Motions over, under the Rule," to be laid before the Senate on the next legislative day when there is no further morning business but before the close of morning business and before the termination of the morning hour.

7. When a bill or joint resolution shall have been or- 14.7 dered to be read a third time, it shall not be in order to propose amendments, unless by unanimous consent, but it shall be in order at any time before the passage of any bill or resolution to move its commitment; and when the bill or resolution shall again be reported from the committee it shall be placed on the Calendar.

8. When a bill or resolution is accompanied by a pream- 14.8 ble, the question shall first be put on the bill or resolution and then on the preamble, which may be withdrawn by a mover before an amendment of the same, or ordering of the yeas and nays; or it may be laid on the table without prejudice to the bill or resolution, and shall be a final disposition of such preamble.

9. Whenever a private bill, except a bill for a pension, is 14.9 under consideration, it shall be in order to move the adoption of a resolution to refer the bill to the Chief Commissioner of the Court of Claims for a report in conformity with section 2509 of title 28, United States Code.

10. No private bill or resolution (including so-called om- 14.10 nibus claims or pension bills), and no amendment to any bill or resolution, authorizing or directing (1) the payment of money for property damages, personal injuries, or death, for which a claim may be filed under chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, or for a pension (other than to carry out a provision of law or treaty stipulation); (2) the construction of a bridge across a navigable stream; or (3) the correction of a military or naval record, shall be received or considered.

RULE XV

AMENDMENTS AND MOTIONS

15

1. All motions and amendments shall be reduced to 15.1 writing, if desired by the Presiding Officer or by any Senator, and shall be read before the same shall be debated.

2. Any motion, amendment, or resolution may be with- 15.2 drawn or modified by the mover at any time before a decision, amendment, or ordering of the yeas and nays, except a motion to reconsider, which shall not be withdrawn without leave.

3. If the question in debate contains several proposi- 15.3 tions, any Senator may have the same divided, except a